Suspect died in police custody: Supreme Court Justices sermon on rule of law

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal made by Director of Public Prosecutions against three policemen from the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) on Wednesday. Sergeant Vissirah Jagdawoo, constables Jean Michel Levasseur and Luc Désiré Potié were acquitted in 2009 following the trial concerning the death of Rajesh Ramlogun in police cell on 14 January 2006. In their ruling, the Justices Asraf Cauhye and Rita Teeluck were highly critical of the fact that the death of Rajesh Ramlogum remains unpunished. For them, the State has the responsibility to protect and ensure the safety of a person while in police cell. “Rajesh Ramlogun was in good health before his arrest and detention by the police. Although evidence has not been established, there is no doubt that Rajesh Ramlogun was subjected to physical abuse and he was killed in custody. Those responsible remain unpunished,” the Judges highlighted. The State, they say, has the duty to protect and not to violate the right to life and protection against torture and inhumane treatment. According to them, “when the State kills its citizens in custody, this is an intolerable violation of human rights. But when the State kills with impunity, it shakes the very foundation on which a democratic State is built: the rule of law.” Rajesh Ramlogun died from a head injury. He was arrested by the MCIT headed by late Prem Raddhoa, during the investigation on the murder of two sisters, Asha and Indra Jhurry at Lallmatie. His wife and children received Rs 7 million from the State as compensation.